Does coconut oil decrease the benefits of probiotics?

Given the antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties of coconut oil, would the effectiveness of probiotics be inhibited by coconut oil, even if the two are taken at the same time? What about if they are spaced out a few hours?

I just emailed this question to Dr. Bruce Fife, author of The Coconut Oil Miracle and director of the Coconut Research Center and provided him with a link to this page. http://coconutresearchcenter.org/aboutus.htm

I had a phone conversation with Dr Kurt Harris back in May and the topic of probiotics vis-a-vis fermented dairy came up. His comment to me was that I would be better off giving myself an enema with it than take it orally. I certainly don't want to misrepresent him so take this as my recollection of what he told me and subject to the accuracy of my memory...which is pretty damn accurate :-)

I do not know if probiotics throw off the natural balance, but a natural balance is something I have not been blessed with. If my balance were a teeter totter I'd have an elephant on one end and a side salad on the other. Currently I am taking Garden Life Raw Probiotics for men (I am a man, indeed) and have had positive results. There are 85 billion CFU per 3 pills with 25 or so different strains, including the ones my GI Panel showed I severely lacked. This is not something I hope to take permanently, but rather a step towards healing my gut.

7
Answers

Given the antifungal, antiviral, and
antibacterial properties of coconut
oil,

This is a whole question in itself. All the claims for the internal antimicrobial powers of coconut oil always seem to lead back to companies selling coconut products. The reseach I've seen is usually in vitro, meaning it was done in a dish in a lab. I am always skeptical of such claims.

would the effectiveness of probiotics
be inhibited by coconut oil, even if
the two are taken at the same time?

Most of the probiotic strains added to supplements are Lactobacilli bacteria. I have seen a small amount of evidence suggesting that these Lactobacilli bacteria are not killed by the lauric acid in coconut oil. Lauric acid is also found in human breast milk so it would make sense that bacteria that normally inhabit our guts from an early age would be resistant to the antimicrobial effects of lauric acid. No one really knows though.

They contain added vitamins, minerals and fruit and vegetables. These could not fit in the capsule if they contained enough probiotics. Some of the minerals may even inhibit some of the probiotic strains.

I expect few of the bacteria listed in this supplement will survive your stomach and even fewer will become extablised in your gut. They generally don't look very good.

Diagnos-Techs GI Panel:

I am skeptical of these type of diagnostic tests for many reasons. I hope they didn't charge you to much for the tests.

Here is what Bruce Fife answered when I asked him the question over a year ago:

Coconut oil does not kill all bacteria and viruses. It does kill many of the common harmful ones. It is most effective against lipid coated microorganisms. It is the medium chain fatty acids that are toxic to the microbes. Nature has designed them that way. Mother???s milk contains MCFAs (that same ones in coconut oil) as a means to kill harmful germs and protect infants for the first few months of life, while their immune systems are still developing. Nature has designed MCFAs to kill only the harmful bacteria but allow the beneficial bacteria to thrive. I don???t know that researchers fully understand how that happens but it is obvious that it does.

I have made kefir from coconut milk, which, I believe does naturally contain some coconut oil. This should indicate, that the probiotics in kefir grains are not being killed off by the oil. Hope this is helpful.

The bigger question: Are probiotics effective in the first place. The colon is home to around 400 to 500 types of critters. Is the one or two strains you're taking actually helping? And if you are taking 1 or 2 strains, could you be throwing off the natural balance?

Most claims for probiotics are rejected in Europe due to insufficient evidence.

I do not know if probiotics throw off the natural balance, but a natural balance is something I have not been blessed with. If my balance were a teeter totter I'd have an elephant on one end and a side salad on the other. Currently I am taking Garden Life Raw Probiotics for men (I am a man, indeed) and have had positive results. There are 85 billion CFU per 3 pills with 25 or so different strains, including the ones my GI Panel showed I severely lacked. This is not something I hope to take permanently, but rather a step towards healing my gut.

I had a phone conversation with Dr Kurt Harris back in May and the topic of probiotics vis-a-vis fermented dairy came up. His comment to me was that I would be better off giving myself an enema with it than take it orally. I certainly don't want to misrepresent him so take this as my recollection of what he told me and subject to the accuracy of my memory...which is pretty damn accurate :-)

"Coconut oil does not kill all microorganisms. It kills many of the disease-causing germs but leaves the good bacteria alone. This is one of the reasons why it is so good for intestinal health. The potentancy of any antimicrobial agent is enhanced with concentration. For this reason, I don't know if a concentrated dose of coconut oil may have some effect on some good bacteria, so I would not consume probiotics along with coconut oil, just to make sure. Separate them by a hour or so."